Stress
by Yugao
Summary: As usual, Shizune is stressing out at work. What will it take to calm her down? A little push from the Hokage. [KakashiShizune]


_**Stress**_

_**Yugao**_

**_Summary: _**As usual, Shizune is stressing out at work. What would it take to calm her down?

**_Author's Note: _**Yes, another oneshot by yours truly… you must be getting pretty tired of me by now. Haha… anyway, this one is rather different because it's KakashiShizune for an unidentifiable reason. It's my first time to write both of these characters, so please be kind with your comments.

**_Disclaimer: _**I don't own Kakashi, Shizune, Tsunade, or Tonton (who isn't present in this fic but just merited mention).

* * *

On the desk were piles upon piles of books; pages had gone askew and bookmarks had fallen from their pages. There was undone paperwork flying practically everywhere, thanks to an open window and a fast-strengthening breeze. Empty porcelain cups and bottles, which once held warm sake, lay neglected atop the desk. Some of the rice wine had spilled out onto the polished wood, dulling its sheen a little. 

Shizune learned, not for the first time in her life, that picking up after a gambling-obsessed alcoholic Hokage was one of the most difficult tasks ever.

"Tsunade-sama…" she said with an exhausted sigh. She'd gone out again, taken some money and left. But it wasn't like she was going to find a casino in the town, so she felt a little bit more relaxed.

Only a little bit, though.

This wasn't just any obsessive-compulsive person she was talking about! She's the Hokage, for Kami's sake!

Suddenly, Shizune got up and rushed to the door. What if she did something drastic? What if she went off somewhere and never came back? What if…? Distressed and worried, she yanked the door open and was about to rush outside. But standing in her way, a head taller than her and still wearing the same blank, expressionless face, was Hatake Kakashi.

"Kakashi-san!" she said, caught off-guard. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were out here. Tsunade-sama isn't here."

He raised an eyebrow. "I know that," he said almost carelessly, with a casual shrug. "I was looking for you, actually."

"Oh?" she asked absently. "I'm sorry, I can't see to anything else right now, I have another matter to attend to…"

He shrugged again. "I just thought you'd like to know where your Tsunade-sama is. Oh well. I guess it can wait if you have something else to do," he answered, turning around and burying his nose in the little orange book he was carrying with him.

"Wait. What?" she called out after him. "You know where Tsunade-sama is?"

He turned, but only slightly. "I just said that."

"Where is she?" she replied.

"I thought you had another matter to attend to," he asked languidly, flipping the pages of his book. "Besides, it's not really important, anyway. She's a grown woman and can take care of herself."

_Maybe, but only as far as I could throw you, _she glared at him. "It's all right. The other thing will just have to wait. Please take me to her."

He cocked his head nonchalantly. "Why do you insist on following her around all day? In any case, I've changed my mind. I have other places to be."

"Kakashi-san!" she followed him, a pleading tone to her voice. "Please. This is important! She still has a lot of important work to finish, and I have no idea where she is."

He ignored her pleas. "I don't know about you, but I'll be taking a walk. I need the fresh air, and honestly, you do, too."

"But what about Tsunade-sama?" she called out. He didn't reply, and Shizune was forced to stare at his retreating form rather heatedly. "Wait – come back here!"

She ran after him, but even at his lazy, careless pace he was hard to keep up with. He always seemed to be disappearing here or there, and Shizune was often forced to run up to the rooftops just to find out where he'd gone to again. She realized that even though he walked slowly, with his nose buried in the second volume of Icha Icha Paradise, he was unpredictably difficult to track.

Finally, she saw him cross through a forest path, and she knew it wouldn't be long before she caught up to him. She quickened her pace as she weaved in and out of the trees' paths, glad to see the bright, blinding light at the clearing. She finally reached the edge of the thick row of trees, and was slack-jawed at what she saw.

Kakashi was sitting by a clear, burbling stream, still reading his book. His sandals lay on the water's edge, and his pants were hiked up to his knees. His legs dangled in the bright, vibrant water illumined by the high morning sunlight.

Lazily, he turned around and saw her. "Oh, you're here," he said with a shrug. "I thought I'd lost you about ten minutes ago. Oh well."

"Kakashi-san," she mumbled, almost out-of-breath. "Please… tell me… where… Tsunade-sama… is."

With that, she fell to her knees on the bright green grass and was silent; her breath was short and ragged. Her dark eyes wandered over everything around her: the sun, the clouds, the trees, the grass, the stream.

And Kakashi-san.

He smiled, or at least Shizune thought he did. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes. Yes, I do," she answered happily.

Kakashi chuckled. "She went out somewhere to buy another bottle of sake. She's probably back by now."

And all Shizune could do was sit there with wide eyes, thinking of all she had gone through that day just to chase after him.

But in any case… it was rather fun.

* * *

Tsunade laid a porcelain bottle, filled to the brim with rice wine, on the desk. She laughed lightly, and looked out the window to see a giggling Shizune walking down the road alongside Kakashi. 

"I do owe Kakashi quite a lot," she said with a smile, patting her wallet fondly, "But it looks like it was well worth every bit I paid him and more."

**_Author's Note: _**Okay, so I might've made it sound like Kakashi-sensei was a hooker of some sort… but I hope it didn't come across that way! If you need an explanation, it's like this: Tsunade-sama just wanted Shizune to stop stressing out, so she devised a scheme to get her out of the office and she let Kakashi do it. I know, I know, it still doesn't make sense. But will you please send a review? I'd gladly clarify any questions.


End file.
